Texas Flood Ranks as The Deadliest US Freshwater Flood in About 50 Years

More than 120 are dead and about 160 others are missing in the catastrophic flooding that occurred in central Texas on the Fourth of July. This tragedy marks the deadliest freshwater flooding event in the U.S. since 1976 and the deadliest weather event in the country since Hurricane Helene last September.

Freshwater flooding, or riverine flooding, comes from rain and is different than storm surge flooding caused by wind pushing water onshore. In riverine flooding, streams and rivers exceed the capacity of their natural or constructed channels to accommodate water flow and water overflows the banks, spilling out into adjacent low-lying, dry land.

Texas has deployed over 2,100 personnel and more than 1,100 vehicles and equipment assets to help local officials and communities respond to and recover from the devastating flooding. More than 20 state agencies are currently responding to flooding threats across the state.

Here’s how the Texas disaster compares to other flooding disasters:

• Horrific freshwater flooding in July 1976 in northern Colorado is the last freshwater event to be so deadly, killing at least 139 people.
• Hurricane Helene killed at least 250 people in September 2024, with 95 of those deaths directly related to flooding, CNN reported.
• The Fourth of July flooding ranks as the deadliest freshwater flood in Texas in more than 100 years. The greater San Antonia area in 1921 experienced nearly 40 inches of ran in about 36 hours and killed at least 215 people.
• Hurricane Harvey, the rainiest typical cyclone in U.S. history, drenched Texas with more than 60 inches of rain in 2017, caused extensive flooding, and killed at least 103 people directly or in its aftermath. Flooding was responsible for 65 of those deaths.
• More people have died due to the Fourth of July flooding in Texas than all the flooding related deaths recorded by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last year. In 2024, NOAA reported 89 people died. The running 30-year average is 113 deaths per year.